Across our great land, brothers and sisters, there is a movement.

It is borne in brightly colored vehicles playing tunes that rouse the faithful. It is sensed in the scent of grilling meat wafting on the wind. It is as powerful as a drive to the goal line by a fired-up offense.

Family photo (ENLARGE)

Thomas Lanford Jr. of Lawrenceville is serious about his tailgating, even going so far as to create a tailgate wedding spread for fellow Georgia fans. They got married at the tailgate spot, held the reception there, and then attended the game.

Family photo (ENLARGE)

Thomas Lanford Jr. of Lawrenceville (left) spends the off season creating full menus customized for each Bulldogs game.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Debbie Moose of Raleigh is a former food editor for The News & Observer in Raleigh. Her second cookbook is "Fan Fare: A Playbook of Great Recipes for Tailgating or Watching the Game at Home" (Harvard Common Press, $14.95). She is also author of "Deviled Eggs: 50 Recipes From Simple to Sassy" and is a columnist for The News & Observer. For more information, visit www.debbiemoose.com. RELATED: Score big points with these recipes  Safety isn't just a team position  Sports fans take their tailgate parties seriously

I'm talking about tailgating, when fans load enough food into their cars to feed the entire SEC for an afternoon — sometimes morning and evening as well — of eating, drinking and predicting victory on the football field.

Everyone is a winner at the tailgate, where optimism rises like the aroma of sizzling bratwurst. And good food is as vital to the day's events as a good kicking game. Dedicated fans all know that certain lucky items — the potato salad that your sister brought for the big win last season, for example — ensure victory. Or, at least, they make defeat taste not quite so bitter.

The University of Georgia Bulldogs will open their season Saturday, but at least one fan has been ready for the tailgate feast all summer. Thomas Lanford Jr. of Lawrenceville spends the off season creating full menus, from beverage to dessert, for each game.

His menus have themes tied to his team's opponents, including grilled game cocks (Cornish game hens) for the game against South Carolina. Lanford also seeks the color of victory by mocking opponents with his menus, such as this one for the Big Orange Vols of Tennessee: Pumpkin Chili With Pumpkin Muffins, Orange Citrus Salad and pumpkin ale.

For Vanderbilt: "Show Us Your Black, Show Us Your Gold" Seafood Risotto, Spinach Salad With Gold and Black Sesame Vinaigrette and Vanderbilt Cocktail.

Lanford feeds as many as three dozen Dogs fans at home games and about half that number at away games. He collects Southern regional cookbooks, and adapts recipes from them for his tailgate menus. He has also been known to analyze a dish he sees on the Food Network or at a restaurant for tailgate-worthiness.

If you think Lanford is unusual in his obsession, wake up and smell the fried chicken, folks.

From Alaska to Minnesota, North Carolina to Hawaii, fans go all out for their teams and their friends.

At Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss., fans bring out silver candelabras and antique chafing dishes for elegant tailgates in the Grove, a 10-acre wooded area that, on game day, turns into a sea of tents. The Rebels feed on Southern classics like deviled eggs and cheese straws.

Tailgating fans at the University of Hawaii set up hibachis and grill fresh fish, much of it caught by the fans themselves. And in North Carolina barbecue country, cookers the size of small submarines roll into parking lots early to begin roasting whole pigs.

Football is the traditional tailgate sport, although exactly when and where it and food came together is up for debate. Yale claims to be the home of the first tailgate in 1904, when fans arriving by train brought picnics. Rutgers and Princeton make competing claims for the birth of the tailgate, however, saying that fans brought food by carriage to the teams' first football game in 1869.

Although it was first, football doesn't hold a monopoly on the craze.

Fans of NASCAR are the long-distance runners of tailgating, camping and eating for as long as a week before the green flag drops.

People gather in 30-degree weather along the route of the Iditarod sled dog race in Alaska to watch the teams and hand lattes to the mushers.

Then there are the untold legions of sports nuts who tailgate at home, preparing lavish spreads of chilis for the Super Bowl or concocting the perfect mint julep to view the Kentucky Derby.

As you can see, brothers and sisters, there is no cure for this fever as it sweeps across our nation. So, let us all join together at the tailgate feast, welcoming friend and foe, vegetarian and carnivore, with the single goal of good eating. At least, until the game starts.

Grilling is No. 1
Stroll through any tailgate scene across the country, and your nose will tell you that grilling is the favorite cooking method. Whether it's simple burgers and dogs, or more elaborate marinated meats or fresh seafood, something about fire really gets fans ready for the big battle on the field.

Here are a few things to remember before you light the grill, be it gas or charcoal:

• Place the grill on level ground, away from anything flammable, such as grass, leaves or — yes — your car. If you want extra security, cover the surface under the grill and within a radius of a couple of feet with heavy-duty aluminum foil.

• Keep small children and loose items, such as your team banner, away from the grill area.

• A fire extinguisher wouldn't be a bad idea. You never know.

• After cooking, don't pack up the grill until it is completely cool, as cold as your opponent's passing percentage. Keep the hot action on the field, not in a parking lot trash can or your trunk.

A few more things to remember:

• The grill. Don't laugh. It's been left at home.

• For charcoal grilling, charcoal, a long-handled lighter and the starter method of your choice. For gas grilling, a small wrench and screwdriver, in case the connections need adjusting.

• Long-handled tongs and spatula, instant-read thermometer to determine doneness and oven mitts.

Some nice-to-have items:

• Folding chairs and tables, for easier eating.

• Folding canopy for shade.

• Tarps to spread on the ground, so you don't have to sit in dirt or mud. Look for them in your team's colors.

• A football or outdoor game (bean bag toss games are available in team and driver colors) to keep young tailgaters amused while waiting to eat.